Nevada Democrats scuttle plans for ‘virtual caucuses’

Democrats have decided not to go forward with “virtual caucuses” this election season because of their vulnerability to interference by outside forces.

State Party Chair Assemblyman William McCurdy II said the idea was to allow Democrats unable to physically attend caucuses to participate by phone or Internet. Unfortunately, he said, the national party has advised Nevada not to go forward, “due to threats against our Democratic infrastructure and Republican inaction to prevent future attacks in the upcoming election cycle.”

“The DNC is doing the right thing by insisting on strong security measures for voters who caucus at home,” said U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. “Intelligence officials have made clear that foreign governments will exploit insecure technology to interfere in our democracy.”

He said expanding caucus participation is a worthy goal but that phone and internet participation is, “simply too vulnerable to attack by foreign hackers.”

McCurdy said Democrats will host multiple days of in-person early voting and caucuses to provide opportunities for participation.